All the Universe is burned by the fire of sorrow,
but sorrow’s fire is not apparent.
Who has ever seen the shape of this fire?
No One Knows (7/2/2023)
Category: Weekly Poems
Man’s Heart is Like a Candle (6/25/2023)
Man’s heart is like a candle; It should be lit and allowed to shine.
There is a void in your soul because of the separation from the Beloved.
That void needs repair.
Know, O ignorant one
who knows none of what makes or breaks a heart, who avoids pain and burning,
Love is something to be encountered, not knowledge to be learned.
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 4, page 468
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall2023), Rubai 1002, Volume 3.
Stubbornly Insistent (6/18/2023)
I have this burning desire to reach You, to meet You.
That desire is making me stubbornly insistent.
In order to reach Your fervor, I offer this unfaithful soul. Continue reading “Stubbornly Insistent (6/18/2023)”
Why Don’t You…? (6/11/2023)
The Beloved said to me,
“Since you are buying kisses from every beauty,
why don’t you buy one from Me?”
I asked, “With gold?”
“No,” He said. “What can I do with gold?”
So I tried again, “With my life?”
“Yes, yes,” He said. “That’s what I want, yes.”
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 464.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (fall2023), Volume 3, Rubai 988.
How Could I? (5/28/2023)
You are in my eyes.
If this were not so, how could I see You?
You are in my mind.
If this were not so, how could I be an insane lover?
There is a wondrous place, although I don’t know where it is.
But, if there were not that place, how could I be there?
Rubailer (2016), Rubai 1, page 460.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub.fall2023), Rubai 985, Volume 3.
From the Sun of Soul (5/21/2023)
What is it that is attracting me to Him in every breath?
It is not ambergris. It is not musk.
It is His fragrance, His fragrance. Continue reading “From the Sun of Soul (5/21/2023)”
Become Divine Light (5/14/2023)
You will be purified from bad habits
by fasting.
You will follow the ascent of the attained ones to the sky
by fasting.
You will be burned like a candle
by the fire of fasting.
Become divine light.
The darkness of a bite makes you a morsel for the ground.
Rubailer (2016), 4ubai 4, page 461.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations, Volume 3, rubai 982.
Love is Only for the Small (5/7/2023)
O moon-faced One,
how long will you stay away?
How long will you be wandering around?
It doesn’t matter if one is an idol or shaman;
we are all Your prey. Continue reading “Love is Only for the Small (5/7/2023)”
“You” (4/30/2023)
If all I have made are mistakes and You are my only right, that is enough for me.
You are the only meaning of my ruined, wrecked life.
At the time of my leaving this world,
if they ask me, “What did you do?”
I will answer, “You.” And, that is enough for me.
Rubaiyat (2016), Rubai 3, page 454.
The Rubaiyat of Rumi, The Ergin Translations (apprx.pub. fall 2023), Rubai 967, Volume 3.
My Patience Will Win (4/23/2023)
The Beloved is holding my harness,
pulling me like a camel again.
His business is to pull the one who chooses to be pulled.
Mine is to carry the load. Continue reading “My Patience Will Win (4/23/2023)”